


Ruby Danger

by bellyboohoo



Series: Gemstone [1]
Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Action, Action/Adventure, Danger, Drama, F/M, Fanfiction, Fighting, Gen, Hamato Clan - Freeform, New York City, Pregnancy, Romance, Science Fiction, TMNT, Teen Pregnancy, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Freeform, Teenage Pregnancy, Unplanned Pregnancy, Violence, manhatten, scifi, teen, the foot - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-29
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:07:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26177719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bellyboohoo/pseuds/bellyboohoo
Summary: "Play stupid games, win stupid prizes."Josephine Perry is alone. Her parents gave up custody, her brother is constantly working, and her boyfriend is undoubtfully doped up on heroin in an alleyway somewhere in the city.Raphael is tired of being treated differently. Leonardo ignores his concerns, Donnie looks down on him, and Mikey is too unconcerned to understand his problems or emotions.On a fateful night of a rooftop error, their paths intertwine in what leads to unlikely and unplanned occurrences.
Relationships: Josephine Perry/Raphael Hamato, Raphael (TMNT)/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Gemstone [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1901041
Kudos: 4





	1. PART ONE

"I swear to you,  
there are more divine things  
more beautiful  
than words can tell"

~ Walt Whitman


	2. Chapter One

_"The person you are trying to reach does_ _not_ _have a voicemai--"_

"Dammit." Her thumb pushed down on the 'end call' button, annoyance thrumming through her. Though her phone screen was cold to the touch--thanks to the near-freezing Manhatten air--she initiated another call and held it to her ear.

The tone buzzed, drowning out some of the chatter that surrounded her on the busy sidewalks.

"Please pick up, Hunter. _Please,"_ she whisper-pleaded.

Another four tones rang, and then--

_"The person you are trying to reach does_ _not_ _have a voicemai--"_

"You asshole!"

A startled gasp sounded in front of her, and upon looking up, her eyes met those of an elderly man. She wiped at her cold and rosy cheeks, attempting to smooth away the embarrassment. "Sorry Mr. Jenkins, that wasn't you I was saying that to," she apologized.

The older man nodded, smiling softly beneath his scarf. "I assume it's about that boyfriend of yours then, hmm?" There was a tease in his voice as he spoke. "Oh, what was his name again? Huckle, or something like that..." he trailed off.

Though amusing, she didn't laugh at Mr. Jenkin's attempt to cheer her up. "Ah, it's actually _Hunter,_ Mr. Jenkins."

He nodded, a finger tapping against his chin in false thought. "That's right, that's right." He shifted, watching as the stoplight changed to red and the walk light signaled. "Well, you have a nice day, Joseline. Be careful getting home."

Her name wasn't Joseline. It's Josephine, and she knew she'd already told the man a thousand times just to call her Josie like everyone else. But with the dementia rooted in his brain worsening by the day, she knew it was unlikely he'd ever remember to do so.

As the man walked away, Josie turned and trudged in the opposite direction. It was January in Manhattan, and the air was colder than a freezer. Her breath was visible enough in the air that it almost seemed surreal.

She was supposed to meet her Hunter--her currently missing boyfriend--by the bakery on the corner, but yet again, he'd been a no-show.

 _Don't cry,_ she told herself. _You knew this would happen. He does it every time plans are made._

The sky was beginning to dim, casting stilted shadows upon anything still left in its wake. It was only four in the afternoon, but night seemed to come faster and faster every new winter. A shoulder bumped her own as she ambled toward her apartment. She hissed, ignoring the person's shout of _"watch it"._

Since moving to Manhattan, everything had changed. No longer did she have the peaceful serenity of her small Indiana town. No longer could she listen for the birds' waking chirps in the early mornings. No, no. Now, the _city_ woke her up, with it's honking cars, bustling and rushing pedestrians, and the factories spewing and spitting out unnecessary and harmful gases into the skyline.

Not to mention, the smell was just downright awful. Josie was sure that, at one point, New York had been a beautiful state. After all, a blue sky doesn't just turn a permanent shade of grey without cause.

Her phone buzzed in her hand as she closed in on the building she called home. She sighed when she saw the caller ID.

Pressing answer, she used one hand to hold the phone up to her ear while the other opened the rusted building door. "Hello?"

 _"Josie, where are you?"_ Her older brother Liam's voice broke through, nearing almost screeching in her ear. _"It's past four, and you told me you'd call when you got there."_

"I'm coming up right now," she answered. "Hunter was a no-show."

_"Again?"_

She nodded her head, knowing full-well that he wouldn't be able to see her. "Yep. He didn't pick up his phone either." Stopping before the elevator, she pressed the up button three times. It had a tendency of not working.

Liam sighed. _"When are you going to dump that guy? He's clearly shown he doesn't care about you as much as you might think he does."_

The elevator dinged as Josie's nose flared, annoyance building quickly within her. "He does care!" She exclaimed, though it was more of a lie she was trying to convince herself was true. Carefully, she stepped into the dirty box-room. "He might just be sleeping. His boss had him working until two in the morning again."

 _"Believe what you want, but we both know the truth, Josie,"_ he stated tiredly.

"Whatever." The elevator doors opened on her floor, welcoming her with flickering lights. It'd been doing that since she'd moved in with her brother. "I'm almost to the apartment now. Unlock the door for me please." And with that, she pulled the device away from her ear and hung up.

Josie loved her brother, and she appreciated all the troubles he went through to keep her from falling into the CPS system. But sometimes, he took his role as 'legal guardian' a little too seriously.

Pushing open the creaky door, the auburn-haired girl was immediately greeted with the smell of a burning microwavable dinner. 

Liam sheepishly grinned as Josie closed the door behind her, slowly rubbing his hand against his neck. "Um, welcome home?"

"What did you do?" She set down her bag and keys, folding her arms over her chest and taking in the scene of the crime.

"I think I put it in for too long." His eyes peered down at the torn box, instructions all but illegible. "I kinda had to guess because I, uh, accidentally tore the box."

Josie sighed, moving towards the closed windows and quickly unlocking them. "Did you think to look at any of the other boxes we have in the freezer?" She asked. "Now our apartment reeks worse than the subways." Forcing the windows up proved to be a harder task than she thought. Their age was clear once Liam helped her push them open.

"Sorry, Josie."

She waved her hands at him. "Just get out of the kitchen. I'll make us dinner." She cast a playful glare in his direction. "Find a way to get the smell out faster."

He perried her. "Yes ma'am!"

By the time their next microwavable meals were ready, it was nearing six o'clock. Josie knew that her brother would be leaving for work at the mill soon, so she did her best to pack him a decent "lunch."

"Did you get your homework done yet?" He asked her as he shoved on his coat.

"Most of it. I just have Trigonometry left."

He winced. "Good luck. I'll never understand why you took that class."

The teen deadpanned. "It's a required class."

"Not when I was in school, it wasn't!" He fired back, grabbing the small lunchbox from the countertop. "Thanks for making this."

"You don't have to thank me for keeping you fed. God only knows you'd probably give yourself salmonella or some other illness by trying to make edible food."

"That's true," he said with a grin. "Well, I'm off. Get your homework done, and go to sleep, okay? I don't want you being late to school... _again_."

"Shut up."

He laughed before opening and closing the door behind him. Almost instantly, the apartment fell into a lonely silence.

Josie breathed out a short and stilted breath, turning to assess what work needed to be done before she started on her homework.

Shouts erupted from, what the teen could only assume was, the floors above. _Stupid neighbors_ , she thought to herself. _Always so damn loud._ She shook her head, making her way over to the still open windows and attempting to close them.

As she locked them, she could've sworn she saw shadows dance across the neighboring building's brick wall. 


	3. Chapter Two

The night was eerily silent for the city that never slept.

Raphael stood on top of a terrace, overlooking the darkened streets below. A frown adorned his scarred and taut face.

Something was off.

A gush of wind blew past him, and within seconds, a body followed it. Hands crossed his leathery skin in an unwelcome gesture, and he could practically _feel_ the smirk lining their lips. "Hello, Raphael."

Karai--daughter of the Shredder, the fierce and terrifying man that ran the Foot Clan--stood chest to shell behind him. If you'd thought gangs were bad, you hadn't yet seen the wrath of the Foot. 

He turned, sais at the ready as he prepared to throw her off. But the second he made the full spin, she was gone. A laugh replaced her appearance, flittering shadows dancing across the rooftops.

"Where's those brothers of yours, huh?" She taunted, her person still not visible to his glaring eyes. "Did you leave them behind at your lair? Oh, how adorably _pathetic._ "

"Get out 'ere and face me!" He shouted. Raising his arms and taking a steady position, he let the wind give away her position.

The crack of rock against concrete had him barreling in a roll to the left. He turned once more, finally coming to face the bob-haired teen. She sneered, her tanto outrightly held in her left hand.

"What're you going to do, huh?" Karai stepped forward, the edge of the weapon stopping just inches in front of his face. Her hair shifted as she tilted her head to the side, doing a glance over the kneeling turtle before her. "You couldn't kill me. Even if you did try."

"My job is ta incapacitate, not kill," he gruffed out. "And you're right. I would nev'a kill Splintah's daughter."

Karai flinched, her once steel resolve cracking. A breath loosed from her lips. "I know."

Raph shoved her tanto away, making to stand again on his three-toed feet. "When ya goin' ta leave ta Foot, Karai?" He asked, not bothering to look at her. He already knew the answer to this question. He'd asked it a million times before, after all.

"You know it isn't easy to just _leave,_ Raphael. There are channels I have to go through to protect myself and cover any tracks left behind." She sheathed her weapon before stepping beside the towering turtle. "If Shredder finds out I'm even considering betraying the clan, I'll be a dead man. Besides, Leonardo asked for me to keep watch and slip you guys any new information I receive."

"Just 'cuz Splintah Junior asked ya to do something doesn't mean ya actually 'ave ta do it."

"Clearly. Otherwise, you wouldn't be here," she deadpanned. 

"Ouch."

The pair stood still, a comfortable silence enveloping them as the city slowly moved through the bitterly cold night. Raphael glanced toward the younger girl, taking in her shivering form.

He looked away.

"We still 'ave room at ta lair if ya change your mind. I'm sure Splintah'd be happy to 'ave ya home."

Karai smiled, pulling her arms up to hug her chest. "Home. I haven't had one of those for a long time."

A creak broke their conversation, followed by the eager steps of a person walking up the fire escape. Raphael knew he and Karai should've found better cover, but in that moment, the two were frozen in place--neither expecting for someone to come up at nearly three in the morning in the dead of a New York winter.

"I swear to god, if you guys don't shut the hell up, I'm going to make your lives miserable for the rest of the time I live in this goddamn building," a ringing voice called out. 

Not a moment later, an auburn-colored head popped above the roofline and glared at the two beings. She had long, medium wavy hair that accentuated her pale skin. Her form was small from what he could tell, and she didn't appear to be holding any threatening weapons.

Raph was waiting for the fear to kick in, for the girl to run as soon as she realized what exactly she was looking at.

But it never came.

Instead, she climbed the rest of the way up from the fire escape and stomped right up in front of them, leaving just two feet of distance between them.

"Look, I'm not here to judge, but if y'all want to cosplay at three in the fucking morning on a school night, could you do it a little quieter?" She grilled them. "Some of us need whatever sleep we can get, and I'd appreciate it if y'all could pipe down."

Raph could feel Karai stifling a laugh beside him, no doubt at the thought of the girl thinking they were _cosplaying._ Did she not see their sharpened weapons sheathed at their waists? Or the unrealistic idea that he was taller than the average human and displayed an abnormally shaped neck? Even his feet and hands would be considered human anomalies.

Either way, he was grateful for the false assumption. It saved him an explanation and a call to his overbearing older brother.

"Sorry for disturbin' ya," he said lowly. He shot a glare at the bob-haired girl beside him. "We were just leavin'."

The girl in front of them deadpanned. "Y'all don't even _live_ here?"

Karai shrugged. "Nope."

The girl cursed beneath her breath. "Unbelievable. And to think I'd heard it all!" Her being shook as a biting wind passed, goosebumps appearing on her uncovered arms. "What are y'all even doing _outside_ at a time like this? Are you insane?"

"Just passing through," Raph stated. "As I said, we'll be leaving soon."

"And how are you going to do that?" She bit back. "If you're planning on getting down from the fire escape, I've got bad news for you. The fire escape is frozen and slippery. You," she pointed at Raph, "won't fit. And you," now at Karai, "will slip with those shoes you've got on."

Karai gave in and released the laugh she'd been holding, nearly doubling over in front of their opposer. Neither Raph or the girl copied her.

Once she'd composed herself, the shorter teen stepped forward an inch. "Listen, hun. We didn't get up here by the fire escape. We _jumped._ "

"You jumped," the girl deadpanned. Shaking her head, she pinched the bridge of her nose. "I've _really_ heard it all now."

An uncomfortable silence settled between them in that moment. Raph took this moment to look at the auburn-haired teen. _R_ _eally_ look at her.

Though it was dark, he could still see the slight splatter of freckles across her rose-tinted cheeks. Her lips were chapped and, though pinched together, thickly shaped. Her cheekbones were gaunt, and her eyes were rimmed with dark purple circles, a sign that she could be malnourished.

A clang sounded through the night that drew their attention, followed by a loud call. " _Josephine!_ Are you out there?"

The girl--Josephine, as Raph came to realize--stifled in her standing, a sigh falling from her lips. Turning back to the pair across from her, she narrowed her eyes.

"Do this again, and we're going to have problems." It wasn't threatening, but more of a challenge.

Raph couldn't help but smirk as he watched her climb down the fire escape.

_I wonder what_ _she'd_ _do if_ _I_ _came back._


End file.
